The Campione From Inaba
by The Distorted Shadow
Summary: Narukami Yu didn't expect school to be anything close to exciting after leaving Inaba for Tokyo. That is until he found out that the world isn't as it seems and that Izanami wasn't the only god to walk the Earth.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone, I know many of my followers will probably be annoyed with me starting a new story but it is just an idea that wouldn't leave my head.

Anyway, just so everyone knows, I've only actually read the first light novel for Campione so far but I just felt I had to start this so I decided to simply start it here.

The story starts between the first and second volumes of Campione and not long after the end of Persona 4: the Golden.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this introductory chapter, I was originally aiming to write about 5k words but it just didn't feel right to stop it anywhere else.

Well, disclaimer time.

**I Do Not Own The Rights To Either Intellectual Property Contained Within This Free Access Fanfiction**

* * *

Narukami Yū could do little more than open his eyes upon hearing his alarm clock go off.

He had failed to get a decent night's sleep because of one simple fact… he was starting at yet another new school this year.

Jounan academy was apparently one of the top schools in Tokyo and had required an entrance exam to gain admittance… he had apparently gained a perfect score on it so it was only natural that he would be accepted.

What caused him to lose sleep however was simple.

The previous year of his life.

He had met so many great friends, had learned the love of a younger sister (technically she was his cousin but that was a moot point), had helped save others and had gained the power to fight with beings beyond human ability.

He was pretty sure this new year was probably going to be much less enjoyable than his last one.

Especially given how the climax of his time in Inaba was killing a deity… it also didn't help that he just _knew_ doing so had changed him in some fundamental way he couldn't quite pin down.

Finally getting himself out of his reminiscence he let his hand gently tap the alarm clock beside his bed, he had never been the sort to strike out at it when he woke up so that was perfectly natural.

So it was with bleary eyes that he proceeded to rise from his bed and prepare himself for the day, starting off with a quick shower before heading downstairs to where most parents would greet their children, the kitchen.

It was no surprise to Yū that no one was there to greet him. Even though he lived with his parents, they both tended to work long hours and rarely spent any time with him outside of their days off.

It reminded him of the time when both Uncle Dojima and Nanako-chan where in hospital… he never got used to it after that happened.

Letting out a sigh he quietly made himself some breakfast, it wasn't good to start the day on an empty stomach after all and he was a pretty good cook if everyones reactions to his bento's was anything to go by.

He at least had the simple satisfaction of knowing that he would NEVER be capable of the 'curry' Yukiko and Chie had made during the camping trip (or as Yosuke liked to call it, 'mystery food X').

That thought brought a sad smile to his face. It hadn't even been a week and he already missed his friends in Inaba so much that it hurt. All of his first true bonds had been made there, until then he was always just 'the quiet transfer student' that nobody paid any real attention to, but there he was someone important in the lives of those he met.

He hoped that this school would be similar but he knew from experience that city schools like this weren't nearly as kind to transfers as Yasogami High.

Idly looking at the clock he noted that he still had forty minutes till school started, if he walked it would probably take between one and two hours and if he took the train he would probably take half an hour, including his time to get to the station, wait for the train and get to school from the station at the other end.

Thankfully he would do any of them, it was one of the reasons he was so happy when Uncle Dojima had sent his old scooter over via a specialized courier.

With it the journey would probably only take ten minutes, fifteen if he hit bad traffic, but he would still give himself twenty just to be safe.

He didn't like being late for school at the best of times, let alone on his first day.

That still gave him plenty of time to finish getting ready, even if all he had to do was finish his breakfast and pick up his bag of school supplies.

A couple of slices of toast and a couple of sunny side up eggs were more than enough to give him the energy he needed for the morning, then he'd have his bento during lunch and maybe he might make some acquaintances… he doubted he would really be prepared to use the term 'friend' as loosely as he used to after last year.

Not now that he knew what true friendship was.

To him that word was now meant that the person was truly important to him and he was truly important to them, that they were someone that wasn't going to do something like forget about him and he wouldn't forget about them.

In a good way of course.

He knew some people he wouldn't forget, not because they were his friends but because they were monsters, Adachi was _the_ prime example of that, someone who committed two murders before orchestrating the attempted murders of six others… for amusement.

That had been what really got him angry, the bastard hadn't done it for some misguided, higher purpose or sense of righteousness like Namatame who thought he was saving the victims by putting them somewhere the killer couldn't reach them, for that Yū could understand the disgraced politician… but to put others in danger for _amusement_ just made him so angry it took every bit of his willpower to not kill the man there and then.

But he didn't kill him, doing that would've made him little more than a murderer, something he refused to become.

Sure he knew that there would probably be plenty of people out there that would agree with that 'type of justice' but he didn't think it was right to think like that, not after seeing how hard his Uncle had worked to try and bring the murders and kidnappings to a close.

Even if the police couldn't catch the culprit because he was hiding in another reality, it didn't change the fact that they tried their hardest to try and figure out the impossible case and were more than prepared to put the effort in to make sure the culprit was brought to justice.

Because he believed in the law.

Sure he didn't believe in all law enforcers, the situation with Adachi had shown him that even among the police there were monsters that felt no such thing as compassion or remorse… but he believed in the law and those that truly wished to uphold it.

And outside of their little stints into the TV world and owning deadly weapons that they used to fight shadows… the investigation team had all been law abiding citizens, though technically Naoto's gun was legally owned by her despite her age and she was legally allowed to chase criminals due to her occupation so she wasn't breaking _any _laws at all when they went into the TV world.

Sure he'd have preferred it if they hadn't needed to break any laws at all but between breaking the law and letting someone die he would choose to break the law and face the consequences once everything was settled.

Though admittedly, the laws didn't account for the supernatural so he did feel that there was a bit more leeway than normal given the circumstances… something Naoto seemed to agree with.

Shaking his head he let his eyes wander back to the clock and noting that he didn't have long to go before he planned on leaving, he decided that it was probably best if he arrived early anyway.

Sometimes it sucked being a transfer student.

XXX XXX XXX

"Who's the new guy?"

"Maybe it's the new transfer student I heard about?"

"What? Another transfer?"

"Yeah, apparently this one's a third year."

"Hm, he's kinda cute."

Yū found himself blocking out the rumours he could heard spouting from the mouths of the other students at the gate when he proceeded to park his scooter and secure it properly, something he didn't have to do in Inaba, the small community there wasn't the sort that a theft like that would happen so he only really had to make sure it was parked and had he had the keys on him.

Tokyo on the other hand was a completely different beast and he knew it, so he wasn't going to take any chances and was going to properly secure it to the best of his ability.

Given that that included a little Rakukaja and tetrakarn and it was actually probably the only thing that would survive if a nuclear bomb was suddenly dropped on the city.

Well, not really, but it probably would if he had used something like makarakarn instead.

That was something that made it clear to him that defeating Izanami had done something to him, that he was finding it not just possible, but effortless to cast Persona abilities in the real world, something he thought he wouldn't be capable of doing after slaying the goddess, let alone cast them _without even summoning them_.

But he was somehow managing to do just that, as if the fog that made calling the incarnations of his mind forth easier was still there… and he was pretty sure he had at least a hundred times more raw power to use for his spells given how little they cost for him to use right now.

For example, tetrakarn, an ability that used to cost him about a tenth of his power was now costing him so little it didn't even register in the grand scheme of things.

Honestly, it slightly worried him.

But he hadn't told the rest of the investigation team about it because despite how worrying it seemed to him, he didn't want to give them a reason to worry as well when he had literally left Inaba that very same day.

Honestly the only clue he believed he had about what had happened to him was a flash of pink and what he guessed was motherly love, but he had no idea what either of those actually meant towards his current situation.

But his instincts were telling him that they were related, the same instincts that made him feel that something was off when Kubo Mitsuo admitted to being the murderer, that told him to seek the truth when Namatame was in hospital, that directed him to suspect Adachi and finally… that led him to Izanami.

He hadn't realised it until after he left, just how much his instincts had helped him, from attempting to put his hand into the TV, to co-operating with Teddie, to interacting with his peers and allowing him to overcome a Goddess.

There was no doubt in his mind now that his instincts were probably his greatest strength and those instincts told him that the flash of pink and motherly affection was important.

"Good morning," he stated to the receptionist as he finally walked into the entrance of the school, "my name I Narukami Yū, I'm supposed to be transferring here today."

The receptionist took one look at him and gave him an affronted look, "I believe it was sent out in the brochure that dyed hair is not acceptable dress code."

Yū wasn't surprised at that greeting, he knew it very well from having read the pamphlet that dyed hair wasn't allowed in the school.

It was one of the reasons he had decided to bring his medical certificate.

"Please have a read of this before making your judgement on my hair colour," he requested of her in a polite tone of voice, indicating that he was being sincere instead of simply pompous.

The receptionist took the certificate in what he could only describe as a professional manner before having a quick read over it before her eyes widened.

"Oh, my apologies Narukami-san, I meant no offense by my accusation," she stated apologetically as she handed his certificate back, earning a soft smile off the grey haired teen.

"It's not a problem, you certainly are not the first to mistake my condition for dye," he stated with a smile. Honestly he didn't have a problem with the truth of the matter, that he inherited genes for premature greying on his mother's side, though he supposed Uncle Dojima was lucky and managed to avoid that gene.

He always did think his mothers hair was probably some of the most beautiful he had ever seen though, which is why he didn't mind being naturally grey at such a young age.

"Well Narukami-san, according to the class roster you are in class three two," she started, earning a smile off the teen.

"Let me guess, third floor, third door on the right?" he asked with a wry smile, earning a couple of blinks of surprise off the woman.

"Yes, how did you know?" her question was clearly based around her belief that he would need at least some form of guidance, possibly because new students would expect it to be different but then again, he wasn't most transfer students.

"I've been transferred to five different schools in the past six years because of my parents jobs, and most have the same basic layout," he admitted with a smile, earning a look of understanding on the woman's features.

Clearly she understood exactly what he meant.

"Well then, you'd better get on your way, homeroom starts in five minutes and the teacher will need to introduce you to the rest of the class," the smile on her face was clearly not happy, but it was also clearly genuine. He could tell that she felt genuinely sorry for him but it clearly wasn't pity, if he had to guess, he would say she didn't like the fact that someone as young as him had already been forced to move so many times.

Then again, he had hated this latest move more than all the others combined.

XXX XXX XXX

Yū had to admit, class was just as dull as ever… if not even worse courtesy of his time at Yasogami high… at least there there were teachers with personality, even if some of them were horrible.

Like Morooka and his obsession with preaching in a way that made everyone want to go against what he was saying, or Kashiwagi who always looked like she was trying to seduce every boy in the class.

Well, it wasn't that she looked like she was trying to seduce every boy in class… it was that she _was_ trying to seduce every boy in the class.

Honestly if it wasn't for that and her degrading way of talking about other women, then she probably would've been a rather popular teacher, she certainly was attractive enough after all.

But when she is so aggressively forward and outright mean at the same time… well she put _everyone _in class off her incredibly quickly.

Well, all except Hanako but then again, Hanako had a similar reputation… but without the good looks to back it up.

Still, at least lunch break was here and he had to admit that he was looking forward to getting his home cooked meal, the only question was where to eat it?

The cafeteria seemed like the typical choice, sure Yasogami didn't have one but then again, that was a very different type of school to the large city ones like the one he was in now.

He could also stay in class and socialise with his peers, sure they certainly wouldn't do anything concerning his social links since he had already maxed all the possible arcana he had found in Inaba and gained the world arcana, but it would be nice to make new acquaintances.

But what he really wanted to do was eat his food on the roof.

It wasn't because it would be fresh air up there, he was in the middle of one of the largest cities in the world.

It wasn't because it would have a good view, like before, it was in one of the largest cities in the world so all he'd really get outside of skyscrapers would be whatever was on campus.

He wanted to do it because that was where the team always met during school hours back in Inaba.

It didn't matter to him how he was living in the past, it was a very recent past after all and he was sure that despite how much it hurt right now he would eventually get used to it.

Plus it wasn't like they were never going to see each other again.

The fact that they all still had each other's mobile phone numbers meant they could easily keep in touch whenever they wanted.

It was just hard to go from meeting with them practically every day, to not seeing them at all.

What he didn't expect was to open the door to the roof to the particular sight he was greeted by.

The teenage boy was perfectly normal. The seriously dark haired brunette with hair framing her face courtesy of a pair of white bands wasn't particularly strange either. Nor was the younger brunette with two pink hair bands.

No, what was strange was the blonde girl that was clearly European and was currently latched onto the boy like a limpet while trying to feed him with a much too innocent expression.

The fact that the boy was obviously uncomfortable with her attention and the other two were currently glaring at them made the scene complete.

"Kusanagi-san! Please! Do not give in to that woman!" the dark haired girl pleaded, though Yū noted that she didn't sound even remotely heartbroken, so it was unlikely the boy had been double dating… so that probably meant there was some history between her and the blonde that made her want to protect the boy from her.

"Onii-chan…" the younger of the girls however growled out something completely different, indicating to him that she was probably the boy's younger sister and didn't like the way he and the blonde interacting.

What he couldn't understand was why she sound so angry at _him_ when it was obviously the blonde that was being a shameless flirt.

Shaking his head, he tore his eyes from the ridiculous scene and looked for somewhere to sit. Thankfully, since the school was so big, it had far more room on the roof than Yasogami did, which meant he had no trouble finding somewhere to sit.

What did catch his attention though was when the dark haired girl turned her head away from the blonde and the boy… not because she moved, but because of her expression when her eyes met his.

_**Fear.**_

It was not what he felt, all he felt was confusion at seeing such an expression appear on a girls face simply because she looked at him.

It didn't make sense.

He couldn't recall ever meeting this girl before and even if he had, he wasn't the sort to hurt people so she shouldn't be scared of him.

So why was she?

Did he remind her of someone she knew? If so, what sort of horror had this person done to her to make her look at him in horror.

"Hey? Mariya-san? Are you alright?" he heard the boy call out, snapping the girl out of her catatonic state as she averted her gaze from his.

"Y-yes, Kusanagi-san," she responded weakly before continuing, "he just reminded me of someone I once met."

"Anyone in particular?" the blonde asked in a tone that sounded flippant but Yū could hear the underlying seriousness of the statement. Apparently whatever the brunette had been reminded of was a serious matter.

"Sasha Dejanstahl Voban," while he may have finally sat down, the grey haired teen hadn't taken his eyes off the people that had originally drawn his attention, even as he opened his bento to get at the homemade meal within.

Thus he didn't miss how both the boy and the blonde tensed and gained grim expressions, however the fact that the girl with the pink hair bands seemed completely lost about what the other three were talking about told him everything he needed to know.

They were in on a secret she wasn't and were trying to keep it that way.

Eating his meal, the newly transferred third year now knew one thing.

This year may not be so dull after all.

XXX XXX XXX

Yū had to admit that he planned on trying to find these three who seemed to be in on some secret.

However it was clear that whatever was going on, they had decided to leave as soon as possible, which in turn made finding them an almost impossible task in a city the size of Tokyo.

So he didn't try.

Instead he simply got on his scooter and drove off.

The problem was that he didn't want to go home yet, so what else could he do.

Ah, of course, he could go and watch a movie.

With his mind made up, he proceeded to travel towards the only cinema he knew the location of in Tokyo, ready to spend an evening watching whatever new release had come out.

XXX XXX XXX

"Are you sure?" a rather scruffy looking man with dark hair and rectangular glasses, dressed in a cheap suit asked Mariya Yuri as she sat in seiza position at her temple, her heart beating faster than normal due to the horrific circumstances.

A Heretic God was one thing to have rampaging in the city but to have two Campione in the same _school _as each other was another all together.

"Yes, he was definitely a Campione," she stated with the poise and dignity someone of her station was expected to possess despite her current unease.

"Do you know anything else about him?" the scruffy man inquired, unlike her, he seemed to be completely unaffected by the news, then again, he wasn't exactly normal at the best of times.

"Only his hair colour and that he looks to be around eighteen years old," she admitted, as she thought back on what she had seen of him.

That stare that she couldn't read, that complete lack of reaction towards Voban's name… she was certain he was either extremely powerful or extremely arrogant if he could dismiss that man's name so easily.

It was likely arrogance from becoming a Campione.

But an arrogant Campione is still a Campione and so far beyond human capabilities that a fly is closer to matching a human than a human is to matching a Campione.

Well, outside of a few notable exceptions anyway.

But even these exceptions were still little more than wasps to a Campione and they were few and far between, let alone numerous enough to be a danger to one.

"Well, let's see…" the dark haired man muttered as he looked at something on his phone, "ah, I think this person fits your description."

And so he showed the Hime-miko the profile that he had managed to get sent to his phone.

"Yes, that's him," she stated with utmost confidence, earning a small frown off the man.

"Name, Narukami Yū, age, eighteen, previous school, Yasogami High, Inaba," the man started listing off, "top of his year in exams, the star of the basketball team, member of the drama club, took three part time jobs, caretaker at the local kindergarten, janitor at the local hospital and private tutor to a middle school boy… also very social, an overachiever if I ever saw one."

"You don't look happy about that," Mariya stated calmly, honestly what she had just heard sounded like a rather reliable person, she just hoped he hadn't let his power go to his head.

"The problem is that he came from Inaba," the bespectacled man stated calmly, earning a look of confusion from the teenage girl, "last year there were three murders and five kidnappings there."

"That's horrible," Yuri stated in disgust at the facts she had just been told.

"The thing is, that the culprit was eventually apprehended but the method he used to commit the murders is still a mystery," he admitted easily, "we always thought it was just some random serial killer but now, knowing that this boy is a Campione… it's put some doubt in my mind about the credibility of that assumption."

"You think he may have used his power to do such things?" she asked him with a fear of the unknown Campione once more stirring in her blood.

"Maybe, or maybe the incident was caused by the God he killed," the messy haired adult said with a shrug, "it could even be that I'm looking too far into it and it was just some random serial killer with no abilities."

And thus the two went back to silence.

"Are you going to contact Narukami-san and see what organisations he has had contact with?" Mariya asked him seriously, after all, whenever a heretic god descended on the world there was always an organisation that noted their presence and while the History Compilation Committee may be the largest one in Japan, it certainly wasn't the only one.

And a Campione could possibly keep themselves under the radar through fear if they tried, especially against a smaller organisation.

After all, in a contest of angering all the worlds mages or angering a single Campione, the answer was always clear.

You anger the mages.

"I'll take to the chief first, see what she says," the bespectacled man stated calmly as he pulled out his phone and started pressing the screen to get his boss on the line, "with Kusanagi-san we chose you because of your relationship with his sister and because you attend the same school as him."

"For Narukami-san, we don't have any 'ins' like your connection to his sister, so it's probably better for a higher up to to see him, it's possible that she'll go and meet with him directly," and with a couple more presses he had finally finished getting his phone ready.

"I see," and so she waited for the man to update his superior and decide what his organisation would do next.

XXX XXX XXX

Yū had to admit, it was nice to watch a movie every now and then.

Even if it was so much better going with a friend.

Of course, the movie had finished over an hour ago and he had returned home after getting some fried chicken.

He was actually rather happy his parents didn't spend much time at home, it meant that he had the whole apartment to himself during most of his stay, which in turn meant he could do whatever homework he had in the lounge without any actual distractions.

Which was exactly what he was doing right now.

Pretty much every subject was so easy that he barely had to think about the answers, then again with his knowledge base and ability to understand things easily, it would be a bigger surprise if he struggled at his homework.

It was also a surprise when the doorbell rang at around half nine, making the grey haired teen look up from giving his work a final look over before he rose from his seat and switched to a persona with null sleep, just in case he met anyone that tried to knock him out.

What greeted him upon opening the door was someone about his age, with shoulder length red hair and a serious expression on her face.

"Narukami Yū-sama," immediately the transfer student knew something wasn't right, nobody referred to him in such a respectful tone, "my name is Sayanomiya Kaoru and I am here on behalf of the History Compilation Committee."

"Sorry, but I'm not interested in whatever you're selling," he responded calmly as he prepared himself to close the door.

"I'm not here to sell anything," her response seemed almost annoyed but he barely noticed it, meaning they were hiding it rather well, "I'm here to ask you about certain event's that my organisation believes you have been involved in."

Yū found himself raising an eyebrow at this persons tone and the way they talked about knowing something to do with him.

"And what sort of events are you planning on asking about?" he asked, curious as to what he was dealing with right now.

"Event's that we believe may have occurred in Inaba," at that statement, Yū knew this wasn't just some salesperson, if they knew about him living in Inaba then it was likely that their organisation really was a genuine thing.

"Alright," the grey haired teen stated with a sigh, "why don't you come in."

"Thank you for your time Narukami-sama," he found himself once again wondering why this person was talking to him with such a honourable suffix but decided to ignore it in favour of one simple question that popped into his mind.

"Can I ask a question without you taking offence at it?" he asked, earning a nod off the person as they passed him.

"It's about my gender isn't it," the knowing way Sayanomiya said that sentence made it clear it was a normal occurrence.

"You are a girl aren't you?" he could see a small hint of surprise flash across their face before it was buried as if it had never been there to begin with, the sheer speed and efficiency with which the person did it let him know he was dealing with someone that was good at hiding their intentions.

"I'm surprised, most people ask if I'm a boy," the redhead said calmly, "but yes, I am a girl. I am curious as to how you realised so quickly."

"Back at my previous school I had a good friend who dressed as a boy and you reminded me of her," he didn't see any real point in keeping that fact away, it wasn't like it was going to make any difference to whatever this person wanted.

"I see," the woman responded, clearly understanding his belief that she was a woman now that he had told her.

Closing the door and turning around to face the woman he was surprised to see her standing next to a sofa without moving to take a seat.

"Feel free to take a seat, do you want any tea?" he asked her pleasantly, earning a much larger look of surprise off her, "is something wrong?"

As soon as he asked the look was gone and the calm and collected individual from before was once more looking back at him.

"My apologies, I was simply unprepared to be asked such a question," her tone was firm and completely calm as she explained her shock away so easily, "but, no thank you, I do not wish to inconvenience you."

Yū found himself frowning at her reason for turning down a cup of tea but decided to ignore it, the way this woman had been talking ever since she arrived had been incredibly formal so he supposed there was some rather important reason this organisation wanted to speak to him.

"So tell me," he decided to ask lightly as he took a seat facing the androgynous female, "what is the History Compilation Committee?"

"We are an organisation whose main purpose is to monitor and ensure that all supernatural activity in Japan is kept secret from the public."

Yū found himself frozen to the spot.

An organisation that deals with the supernatural and keeps it a secret from the public?

"And if you really are part of some organisation that deals with things like that, why have you come to me?" he really didn't know what to do right now, he thought only the rest of the investigation team actually knew about there being supernatural events going on in Inaba, but was he wrong?

"Because one of our associates at Jounan academy confirmed that you are a Campione," she stated with her usual air of calmness, "a God slayer."

Now he knew this wasn't a prank.

There was no way anyone would use such a ridiculous line if they were trying to pull a prank after all.

They would probably try and pull a Harry Potter and say 'you're a wizard Yū,' or something like that, but to say that he had killed a god meant that they actually knew such a thing was possible… though not necessarily permanent.

"How?" he didn't need to say anymore, the mere fact that he could be identified as having killed a god meant that they had some way of telling and he wanted to know what it was.

"There are some Hime-Miko with a skill known as spirit vision, I myself possess some skill in it, though the person that saw you possesses an unrivalled talent in the art, thus she was capable of identifying your nature on sight without trying," she informed him, making Yū nod his head in acknowledgement.

"So, why are you here? I'm not going to talk about things like that with those that aren't in the know so we shouldn't have any conflict right?" he asked, earning a furrowing of the redhead's brow.

"Tell me, am I the first member of a mages association you've been approached by?" Kaoru asked him earning a nod of acknowledgement in return.

"That doesn't' make any sense," her expression went from serious to obviously concerned upon hearing that piece of information, "if a Heretic God descended to the world then they should've been picked up by at least one association."

"I don't know about Heretic, but the deity I killed did split herself into four pieces and focus her power on creating and maintaining another world, accessible via TV's," he decided to try and help her out, apparently what he said made things fit into place for her as she let out a sigh of acknowledgement.

"Yes, I guess that could explain why we didn't pick up on it," she gave a nod and then decided to ask one simple question, "so what was the name of the God you killed?"

"Izanami-no-Okami," he could see shock appear on the redhead's face once more and it stayed there longer than before but was eventually squashed down by her calm demeanour.

"Well, I wasn't expecting your first god to be one like that," she admitted seriously, earning a small laugh off the male.

"Yeah and I wasn't expecting to meet a god but I did," he admitted with a shrug, earning a small smile off Sayanomiya.

"Well, I suppose it is my responsibility to let you know just what sort of position you're in right now," the HCC representative stated, causing Yū to raise his palm as a sign to wait.

"I don't know much but I do have a question before you start explaining things to me," he decided to ask, "do you have to talk so formally?"

"Does it displease you?" her response was measured and he found himself simply letting out a sigh at the way she said it.

"Well, no but I would feel more comfortable if you weren't quite so… formal," he admitted only to blink in surprise upon hearing a sigh of relief.

"I see, that's good, acting like that's a right pain in the ass," everything about her suddenly changed, her expression went from serious to relaxed, her posture went from rigid to loose, her tone went from no-nonsense to easygoing, all in all it was as if he was now talking to another person.

"So, since we're going to be more casual now, do you want any tea?" he decided to ask again, wondering if she had simply turned down his previous offer out of some need to appear completely serious about the subject at hand.

"Nah, it wouldn't feel right to have a King serve me tea," the flippant way she made her statement caught the grey haired boy off guard as he processed exactly what she said.

"Wait, what do you mean 'King'?" he asked cautiously, earning a grin off her in response.

"Exactly that, since no one can stand up to a Campione, it's accepted that they are the highest authorities in the world, higher than any government or corporation," the redhead told him with a grin, "makes me happy to know that you're a decent guy."

Yū found himself frowning at that, so these people just accepted Campione as a higher authority than them without even trying to fight back?

"But surely one person can't stand against an entire country," he said with conviction in his tone, earning a sad smile from the representative.

"The last time people tried to fight against a Campione… an army of fifty thousand was slaughtered in less than an hour and the Campione left without a single scratch… that was over one hundred years ago," the way she said it made it clear to him that she wasn't exaggerating the numbers, that an army of fifty thousand really was annihilated by a single person.

And he apparently held that sort of power.

"There are only two things that can fight a Campione," she didn't get a chance to finish her statement as he already predicted it.

"Gods and other Campione… right?" the nod of acknowledgement he received was completely expected given what he had just learned.

"Yeah, I'll admit, most Campione are the type of people you want to stay out of the way of but aren't particularly bad," the woman told him calmly, "there is only really one exception but he's considered to be the oldest and strongest Campione out of them all so fighting him is a foolish endeavour, even for another Campione."

"I see… so what else can you tell me about Campione in general?" he definitely needed knowledge if he wanted to understand his current position, that was one of the things that truly made itself clear in his mind.

"Well, their bodies are much stronger than a normal human's, they are quicker to heal and the most important part, the bit that puts them so far beyond regular mages… is the authorities they have usurped," her words made him furrow his brow at using the word 'authorities' in that sentence, "we call the magic of the Gods 'authorities', since it is a natural part of their nature and they don't need to learn anything to use them… the same applies to the Campione that usurped their authorities."

That made him think, what was he capable of doing if he wanted to? These 'authorities' were supposedly something that came naturally to anyone that held them so why hadn't he noticed these abilities before?

He decided to focus inwards, looking at his personae, only to stop focusing on them for once and instead looking for anything else within him that could possibly count as one of these usurped abilities.

A thick fog, a thousand curses, a storm of lightning, eyes that could reduce even the strongest of humans to within an inch of their life… all in all, he could now see every ability he had faced when fighting Izanami.

Which meant they had always been there within him, somewhere he never thought to look, like he had gained another heart, it was something that was obvious when you looked for it but wasn't noticeable if you didn't even consider its existence.

And he knew how to enact them all.

It was no wonder these mages were scared of Campione, using any of those powers would put him beyond practically every human around.

Hell, if it hadn't been for Izanami taking the group so easily to begin with and him unlocking his ultimate persona, which just so happened to be designed to defeat her and he was certain they would've lost badly.

They almost had even when she hadn't been taking them seriously.

"I see… I never thought about anything like that so I never noticed," he decided to let her know about his lack of consideration about his own power.

Even if his power did explain how he could use his personae without the fog.

Because he wasn't.

It now made sense, since he was now the source of the fog, all of his personae was constantly under its effects and therefore just as effortless to summon as they had been in the midnight channel.

"So, is there anything else I need to know?" he asked calmly, sure he may have been getting some rather unexpected surprises just now but he was more than capable of handling a lot more.

"That you're not the only Campione in Japan," that was to be expected, for her to have so much information on the people who killed gods there clearly had to be more than just him, "and it just so happens that the other one goes to the same school as you."

Yū had to raise an eyebrow at that information, he hadn't expected there to be another one so close to him.

"And how many Campione are there in the world?" he wondered just how high the number actually was for two such people to learn at the same school.

"Including yourself… there are currently eight known Campione in the world," the shrug she gave at that information made him blink, he had expected there to be more than that but quickly shook his head.

"There is one other thing," the redhead started, making him look at her rather calmly, "while you're now considered a King, there is one thing that the people expect of you… you are to slay any Heretic Gods that descend on the world."

"Huh? Sorry, but can you explain what you mean by Heretic God?" he definitely needed an explanation for that one, that much was for certain.

"Alright, how's the best way to put this… Gods come from myths and legends right?" he nodded, wondering exactly why she was trying to dumb it down for him, "well, these myths and legends are an actual place… well, not actually a place but…"

"A metaphysical area that exists within the collective human psyche?" he decided to have a shot at guessing exactly what she meant and given how myths and legends tend to be told by people… well he thought it would only be natural that if they existed anywhere it was probably linked to human conscious.

"Yeah, that's right," the smile she wore when she said that made it clear that she hadn't expected him to get it, much less on such a small amount of information, "anyway, sometimes Gods will grow tired of their legends and manifest in the real world, when they do they bring calamity, like how if a God of the ocean appears, there will be massive floods."

Yū nodded at that, she didn't really need to explain anymore but there was one thing he wanted to make clear.

"Alright, I understand what you're asking of me and I will help you deal with these Heretic Gods if they show up _and_ cause harm to people," the emphasis he put on the word and made the redhead blink and look at him questioningly, "I told you before tha Izanami split herself into four pieces right? Well one of those pieces was left in the form of a human with no memory of anything except language."

"She became someone very close to me and then when she finally remembered her purpose and what she was… she tried to die to protect me, my friends and the rest of the world from her power running awry," he explained, earning a look of shock off the representative, "we managed to stop her and she continued to live on until we defeated Izanami."

"She left the world to learn how to control the power that she was forced to house when the other parts of her were defeated," he explained, noting the look of shock on the redheads face, "if a god like her, who just wants to live a normal life appears, I won't kill them, no matter how much anyone tries to make me."

"I understand, honestly I'm finding what you're saying really hard to believe but I won't argue with you since I wasn't there," she said with a shrug, earning a snort of amusement off the persona user.

"So do you have anything else you need to tell me?" he asked, earning another shrug off the representative.

"Nothing of vital importance that can't wait for another day," she said with a wry grin, "besides, surely all work and no play isn't any way to live," the way she nodded towards his homework that was strewn across the table, earning a shrug off the greying teen.

"I went to the local cinema and got some KFC before coming back so it's barely taken me an hour to do this," he informed her casually, earning a few blinks of surprise in return.

"Really? Damn, you must work fast," she admitted with a hint of disbelief in her tone.

"There was a reason I was the top of my year in my previous schools," the wry grin he wore when he said that only made her chuckle and shake her head.

"Well, if you're so damn good then why not give me a hand with my own?" she asked with a laugh.

"Sure, just don't expect me to do it for you," the god slayer said without dropping his grin.

"Well, I didn't bring it with me so we'll have to wait for another day," the way she shook her head made it clear to him that she hadn't expected him to actually accept her joking request for help, "if you have any more questions, feel free to give me or any of my associates a call."

He noted the business card she lay on his table, complete with several phone numbers and names adorning it.

"I'll be sure to do just that," he informed her as he pocketed the card, he would probably put the numbers in his phone later but for now he would just put it away.

"Well, I'll see you sooner or later Yū-san," and with a simple wave over her shoulder, the redhead left the apartment.

With her no longer around, it was time for him to do something he felt he had to do now that he'd learned something so important.

Pulling out his phone, he scrolled through the numbers and selected the first that he would call and put it to his ear.

"Hey Yosuke, you'll never believe what I've just found out."

* * *

Well I hope this first chapter was enjoyable for you all.

I don't actually have too much to say here except that most of what I could say will probably be a spoiler so I won't.

Anyway, I would like to thank a pair of reviewers for informing me of where Kaoru goes to school, since in the original version of this chapter I had been unable to find out where she went and made it incorrect.

That has now been corrected.

So until next time:

Shadow Out.


	2. Chapter 2

And I'm back.

I would like to point everyone in the direction of my blog (located on my profile page), that is where I will be posting updates on what I'm doing and any news concerning my fics.

Though right here, I want to point out something I recently learned.

Persona 4 ends on the 20th of March, but in Campione, Godou starts spending his time on the rooftop during June, that's a three month gap which I was unaware of, as such I've decided that Yu left Inaba much later than he did in canon in order to tie in with the story better.

I have also made a change to the previous chapter concerning Kaoru, so if you read this fic during the first 24hours of it's publishing... then it's changed.

I have also decided that instead of having this fic set between the first and second volumes of Campione, it is going to be set just after the second volume, meaning Godou has already fought Voban.

I still haven't read the rest of the Campione light novels but there really isn't much happening that relates to them in this chapter so I decided to get it out now instead of waiting until I finished reading them.

Anyway, without further ado...

let's get this show on the road.

* * *

Yū couldn't stop himself from letting out a sigh as he looked at himself in the mirror before school.

It was strange for him to think that he could no longer be classified as human now, especially given just how human he still looked.

But he had looked again this morning and sure enough, he could feel his authorities.

Shaking his head, he pushed those thoughts out of his mind and focused on getting ready for school, he may not have really talked to anyone there yet but he was going to have a word with that group that included the European girl, they had mentioned the name Sasha Dejanstahl Voban the previous day and given how Sayanomiya-san had mentioned that he was the most powerful Campione… well, it didn't take a genius to figure out that one of that group was the other Campione of Japan and he actually _was_ a genius.

He idly wondered how the other Campione would react to him, after all, a meeting between two kings wasn't an everyday occurrence… especially when they live in the same city.

That was what was really making him curious, would this other Campione consider him a threat to his rule and try to eliminate him, or will they accept peaceful co-existence until he returned to Inaba?

Because he _was _going to return to Inaba when he finished his education, that was one certainty in his life.

And so with that thought currently in his mind, he proceeded to perform his morning rituals and prepare himself for school and his inevitable confrontation with the other Campione.

XXX XXX XXX

Kusanagi Godou didn't know what he was going to do.

It hadn't been that long since he had fought Voban and yet ANOTHER Campione was now in Tokyo… and he was apparently going to the same school he was!

"Onii-chan! Stop struggling!" he couldn't stop tears from falling from his eyes as his little sister Shizuka attempted to drag him to school.

Normally he would've left long before her in order to wake up Erica but with another Campione attending the school, all he could think of doing was avoiding the establishment with all his might.

It was unfortunate that his might wasn't enough to overcome his little sisters iron will.

"But I don't want to go anymore!" he practically cried out, he didn't know what this other Campione was like but so far he had met two… the first tried to cut him to pieces for fun and the other tried to kidnap his friend and then nearly levelled a park hunting him down.

So he most certainly did not have good memories of dealing with the other kings, that much was for certain.

And he really didn't want to risk destroying the school and killing the entire student body just because he got into a fight that was closer to the scale of a natural disaster than a karate match.

After all, Campione were Godslayers and were almost always so far beyond human limits that any fight against them was a guaranteed victory in the kings favour.

He was also pretty sure that he was the only one that wasn't that far beyond a knight given the restrictions on his authorities, which meant that he was actually better off against stronger opponents than weak ones.

It also didn't help that he knew nothing about this other Campione, so it was entirely possible that not one of his authorities would be suitable in a fight against him… he had already seen just how powerless the Stallion had been against Voban when the man had simply eaten the authority like it was a rice cake.

So he had no idea if this grey haired teen would have a similar ability.

Honestly the only authorities he knew would work for certain were the Ram and Warrior… he could probably aim the Boar at something else but that was a far more destructive ability than he wanted to use.

"Onii-chan! Stop being such a baby and just come to school already!" the angry glare Shizuka was giving him was enough to make him finally submit to the younger girl.

He may have fought Gods and Campione, he may have faced down a demonic sword that had transformed into a gigantic lion and caused massive amounts of property damage to world famous tourist sites… but Kusanagi Godou would always fear his sister.

"Good boy," he found himself falling even further into depression as she addressed him in the same manner she would a dog… dammit! Why did she always have to make him feel so low?

And so he simply tried to prepare himself for the most harrowing day of his life.

After all, he'd never encountered any foes in school before and had no idea just how much chaos would be sown today.

XXX XXX XXX

Yū stretched out as class ended and lunch began.

Sure he knew he probably should get to know some of his classmates today but the fact of the matter was that dealing with his fellow king was more important.

It was one of the reasons why he made a couple of extra bento's for today.

He just hoped the other Campione would take it as the peace offering it was and not an attempt to poison him.

He hadn't had any interaction with them so he had no idea how they would react to his attempts, sure he was anticipating that the rather plain looking male that had been around the European Blonde was the Campione, the way she flirted with him and the fact she wasn't native gave him the impression that she wasn't the Campione herself.

And beyond that, why would a European king come to school in Japan?

The other girl that seemed to be in the know was also clearly subservient to the boy, even if that subservience was in the same manner that Chie had been subservient to him… in other words, she chose to follow him because she was comfortable doing so.

That was probably the main reason he was as willing to risk the confrontation as he was, for that girl to be subservient in that particular manner probably meant that the boy was at least a decent enough person.

Of course he could just be misreading the brunettes actions but he doubted that.

And so he gathered the bento's he prepared the previous night and made his way out of the classroom and towards the roof.

Upon arriving he was greeted to the sight of the area being completely empty, obviously he had been the first person to arrive and so without any hesitation, he took a seat somewhere that could be easily seen by those leaving the stairwell and going to the roof.

Time passed as others proceeded to appear in a relatively slow trickle, that is until the group he had been waiting on arrived.

He noted that the blonde that seemed to attach herself to the teenage boy gave him a wary look, one that seemed more in tune with Naoto when she was assessing a threat than anything else, so he assumed she was trying to determine what he was doing there today.

The dark haired brunette looked at him with a hint of fear in her features, though nowhere near as all consuming as yesterday's reaction to him.

It was the dark haired boy that truly caught his attention. The way he looked so nervous upon seeing him, the way he seemed to be contemplating running away right there and then… it wasn't the sort of reaction he had expected from him.

Noting that the younger girl that had been with them yesterday was nowhere to be seen, he decided the best course of action was to wave the other group over and hope that his peace offering would be accepted.

XXX XXX XXX

Godou couldn't stop himself from feeling his heart race as he watched the other Campione sit on the roof and wave him over.

Why did the other Godslayer have to call him over like that? It would've been easier for him if he had walked up to him and started making demands.

But now, now he would be required to make the first move, to be proactive instead of his favoured situation of being reactive… it just wasn't fair!

His mind stalled as he watched Erica strut up to the grey haired teen with her usual air of superiority, it was likely that she was trying to provoke the other Campione, he just knew she was going to try and assert _his_ dominance over the other teen.

"W-wait! Erica, stop!" he tried to plead, hoping that there wouldn't be a complete disaster because of her.

But it was too late.

"You, what are your intentions here?!" she demanded, Godou had to admit, her confidence was truly immense if she could waltz up to a Campione she had no information on and demand such information.

"To speak with the other Campione of this school," his answer was stated calmly and with a hint of an amused smile, "though, I admit that I thought your boyfriend was the one to hold the title."

"We're not a couple!" Godou couldn't stop himself from shouting out, he really didn't like the fact that this other Campione would immediately come to that conclusion, honestly, he was more concerned about that than he was about the grey haired teens statement that he thought he was a Campione.

"Ignore Godou, he's just in denial," the Great Knight stated in a dismissive tone, making him feel even more worthless than before, "and he is indeed the Seventh Campione."

With that statement, the slightly older teen looked at him with a rather bland expression, making him feel as if he was being judged by someone far above him… it really was rather terrifying, especially since he knew that this person was also a devil king.

"I see, that's a relief," and with that one statement, Godou found himself freezing. He also noted that both Erica and Mariya had done the same as him at that statement, "at least I now know for certain that you aren't going to pick a fight with me."

And with that one statement Godou found all his previous worries flowing away.

"Y-you aren't going to try and kill me?" he knew he sounded desperate but he just had to ask the slightly older teen.

"What? Why would I want to kill you?" at with the complete confusion saturating the grey haired teens voice, Godou found himself releasing all the tension his body had been building up all day and let himself fall to the floor in relief.

"S-sorry, it's just so far you're the third Campione I've met and both of the others tried to kill me," he admitted while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Why were they trying to kill you?" the question was asked with an obvious amount of confusion and Godou thought that for the first time ever, he may have just found another normal person with the title of Campione.

"Well, Doni is a sword nut and Voban's a vicious monster," the dark haired teen admitted, earning a look of surprise off the older boy.

"That doesn't sound good," the eighth Campione's response made the dark haired boy smile, perhaps he would finally have someone he could confide in about his doubts and issues with his status as a Campione.

"Yeah, it's nice to meet another Campione that's normal," he stated with a smile before noting the grey haired teens attention was drawn towards the entrance to the roof.

"Ah, looks like the fourth member of your group has arrived," and with that statement, Godou found himself immediately looking behind himself, only to find Shizuka already storming her way towards him with a murderous expression on her face.

"Onii-chan, are you annoying the transfer student?" she asked, making the dark haired Campione wonder exactly how she knew the other Campione was a transfer student.

"Ah, actually it was the other way around," Godou found himself jerking his head back towards his peer as he made that statement, he only just realised that he hadn't told this other Campione that he as keeping everything a secret from her, so he only prayed that the older teen didn't say too much, "I went a little overboard last night since I couldn't decide what I wanted for lunch today and thought that I could share some of it with others."

It was then that Godou noticed the tower of bento's sitting next to the slightly older teen and immediately felt himself stare in disbelief at it.

"And why did you decide that my worthless Onii-chan was worth giving any to?" the seventh Campione found himself flinching at his little sisters description of him.

"Well, I had lunch up here yesterday and you four reminded me of my friends from my old school," that had the youngest Campione stall, he had no idea how they could remind him of his old friends, and apparently neither did Shizuka.

"Oh, and how's that? Was there someone as clingy as Erica there?" the smile that the grey haired teen gave, made Godou wonder just how happy the newer Campione was.

"Well, she wasn't quite as clingy as that, but she did cling to me whenever the opportunity arose," the smile never dropped from the transfer students face as he made that statement, "but that's not what I meant, your group reminded me of my friends because of how close you all seem to be."

That was something Godou could agree on, despite the rather chaotic mess he, Shizuka, Eric and Mariya made, they were probably closer than the other groups in the school.

"So, do any of you want a bento?" the smile that the grey haired high schooler gave was just as pleasant as every other one he gave out during their encounter and Godou found himself wondering if it was intentional or if this other Campione was doing it just to make him drop his guard.

"Um… sure, I guess I could try it," the hesitation in Shizuka's acceptance was understandable, from what his sempai said, he had made the bento's himself and that would mean that they would be nowhere near their grandfathers meals.

After all, his grandfather was the best cook Godou had ever met.

It was when Shizuka opened the first bento that his mind started to experience doubt. Not only did the meal look delicious but the smell was simply divine.

He idly wondered if he should accept one of those bento's despite Anna's cooking generally being delicious and having a bento prepared by her, the smell that was being emitted from Shizuka's accepted lunch was just that good.

He watched as his little sister took a piece of the meal, what seemed to be some type of pasta, before she placed it in her mouth and immediately froze.

He watched for several seconds as the expression on her face cycled between disbelief, bliss and indecision, before she finally started chewing and swallowed the morsel.

"I-Impossible… i-it's even better than Grandpa's," the disbelief in her voice and the fact that she claimed the food was even better than their grandfathers was enough to make Godou freeze.

"So I take it you like it?" the way the grey haired teen smiled was enough to make Godou wonder if the boy was simply easy going or if he tended to fake his social interactions, if it was the second one then his initial thought of how easy he would be to get along with might need adjusting.

The youngest of the group simply nodded her head enthusiastically, "yes, thank you for the meal… ah… sorry, I forgot to ask your name."

"Oh… I forgot about that as well, anyway, my name is Narukami Yū, it is a pleasure to meet you…" he started only to trail off, obviously intending on Shizuka giving her name to him.

"K-Kusanagi Shizuka, it is a pleasure to meet you as well Narukami-san, please keep an eye on my no good Onii-chan," and once again, Godou felt as if she had just shot an arrow through his heart with her insensitive words… that is before his mind focused on something else, the fact that his little sister was blushing.

He immediately started praying that she was blushing out of embarrassment… he didn't know what he would do if she started growing attracted to a Campione, after all, it was bad enough that she was related to him, she didn't need a close connection to _two _godslayers.

"Ah, my apologies, my name is Mariya Yuri," he was broken out of his thoughts by Yuri introducing herself to the unfamiliar Campione.

"Kusanagi Godou," he was silently surprised by the fact that he managed to say it without any stuttering or nervousness, then again he was more concerned about Shizuka right then, "and this is Erica Blandelli," he decided to supply his senior with Erica's name since he expected her to be anything but forthcoming about any information.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Godou-san," the dark haired teen didn't take anything from the older teens usage of his given name, after all, since Shizuka was there as well, he would clearly use their given names to distinguish between the two.

"Likewise, Narukami-san," Godou idly considered just how different the atmosphere was with the eighth Campione around than when he wasn't, after all, neither Mariya _or_ Erica were really talking with the grey haired teen around.

That thought made something pop into his head.

"Narukami-san, do you need any help getting to know the area?" Godou asked, praying that the teen would accept what he was implying.

He wondered about why the other male gave him a quick look before letting that infectious smile grace his lips once again.

"Alright then, I'll take you up on your offer," the way the older teen made that statement made Godou wonder if he understood exactly why he had asked before shaking his head, he wasn't quite that easy to read… was he?

Deciding to put that thought out of his mind, he noted a certain level of displeasure making itself apparent on Erica's face and idly wondered if she had anything against him creating a new friend.

XXX XXX XXX

Erica didn't know what to do.

This Narukami Yū would probably be better as an ally than an enemy but that didn't stop one simple problem from being raised because of him.

He was too normal.

That's not to say she didn't believe he was genuine, the fact that Shizuka was eating one of his bento's without any negative effects was proof that he hadn't attempted to poison Godou or anything like that.

The problem was the effect he would have on Godou's development.

For so long she had been trying to get Godou to accept that he was no longer a normal human, that he was one of the most powerful figures in the world and that he should start acting like the king he was.

But this new Campione could threaten that development by making him believe that his current way of acting _wasn't_ a mistake.

And now Godou was apparently planning on spending some extra time with the other teen and she didn't know of any suitable excuse to stop him.

At least, not any that would prevent him from spending time with the eighteen year old.

Oh, both she and Yuri had received in the information about the eighth Campione that had been discovered the previous night, including exactly which God he had slain.

Not that she was particularly worried, she had every confidence that Godou could defeat the other teen should the two do battle, he had defeated Verethragna, the God of Victory after all and even if his authorities had restrictions on them, she was certain he could win.

Sure, since Izanami was an ancient Shinto Deity with very few known parallels, her power was more pure and therefore greater than that of those that had a great accumulated history.

That's not to say other Gods didn't have greater abilities, while their power may be spread thinner than Izanami's they tended to have more abilities at their disposal, which in turn allowed them to overcome the difference in power.

But that lack of extra history meant Godou would have far less trouble making a sword to sever Izanami's authorities.

But she still couldn't stop herself from thinking about the danger this other King presented to her Kings mental state.

Shaking those thoughts out of her mind, she decided that she needed to think up a plan to separate the two without gaining Godou's ire… so for tonight, she would let the eighth Campione talk with her lord, hopefully by tomorrow she could come up with a suitable method of removing the negative influence.

It was simply a matter of time.

She just hoped she wouldn't be too late.

XXX XXX XXX

Yū couldn't stop himself from smiling as the lunch break ended.

All his previous concerns about the other Campione had been dispelled in their brief encounter and he was now certain that a peaceful coexistence was not only possible but highly likely… if anything it seemed more like they might actually become allies as well.

Though he would admit that he was concerned about that Erica Blandelli that seemed to stick to Godou like a limpet, she clearly did not like him and he had no idea why.

He really hoped she wouldn't try and start a conflict between them, that would simply make everything awkward.

She had also been the only one to not accept one of his bento's, even if most of them were going to be saved for later.

It was always satisfying to see someone enjoy the food he had cooked, even when the people eating it were merely acquaintances instead of the close friends he shared them with back at Yasogami.

But that didn't matter, what mattered was that he was going to be spending time with his fellow king, something he hoped would help foster good relations between them and allow for a trustworthy ally among the magical world.

After all, the History Compilation Committee existed to hide the existence of magic and deities from the general populace so what was there to say they didn't hide other things from the Campione?

That's not to say that he didn't want to trust them, he hoped they were a trustworthy organisation, but he wasn't going to blindly accept them as such, not after tha whole debacle with Adachi in Inaba.

If they hadn't been so instantly trusting of the apparently useless detective, then maybe things might have turned out differently… though if he was honest with himself he knew that things turned out as well as they could've, after all, they had managed to save everyone they could even if it had been a close call on every occasion.

But even if he wasn't prepared to fall into the same trap again, he was still the type of person that wanted to trust others.

After all, it was possible that the HCC was just like the investigation team, keeping people out of the loop in order to avoid creating panic and protecting them from the knowledge that things aren't as they seem.

He honestly hoped that they were like that.

But as they say, set your hopes high and your expectations low.

That way he won't be disappointed if they turn out to be not as nice as he hoped they were.

His attention focused on the teacher as they entered the room and without any further contemplation, he prepared himself for the rest of the school day.

Now if only they could start teaching him something he didn't already know.

XXX XXX XXX

Godou was nervous.

School had finally ended and he was going to be spending some more time with the newest Campione.

Sure he was nothing like Salvatore or Voban, but in the end he was still a Campione and it was possible that the older teen was simply pretending to be nice while there were others around in order to keep their existence a secret from the public.

Bah, who was he kidding, Narukami-san wasn't like that, his instincts honed by reading his foes in baseball practice told him that and those instincts were rarely wrong.

No, what really made him nervous was the thought of how Erica would act if she was around him for too long.

It was no secret that she didn't like him, something that he simply didn't understand, after all, Narukami-sempai was perfectly pleasant and showed no signs of being anything but sincere.

Well, except for his ability to lie as effectively as he did against Shizuka… alright, maybe Erica did have a reason to be distrustful of the grey haired teen.

But still, he trusted the other high schooler and that was all that really mattered.

In the end though, he just knew that having Erica around would make everything far more awkward than he would really be comfortable with but it was still better than trying to deny her advances at every moment of the day.

So he would just hope that she and Narukami-san would just ignore each other.

If that happened then he would probably get a much needed break from the constant attention she lavished on him.

It wasn't that he didn't like her, quite the opposite in fact, but the reality was that he didn't want to become committed until he was older. So to put it another way, she was simply trying to go too fast for him and it made him uncomfortable.

Plus, the attention she gave him caused most of the boys in his class to focus their ire on him… it wasn't even his fault she clung to him like she did, so why was he always getting the short end of the stick?

It hadn't been that long ago that he had been kidnapped by Takagi, Nanami and Sorimachi over the fact that Erica and Mariya spent a lot of time with him… and it wasn't like he could just tell them that they were both members of secret organisations that revolve around magic, Gods and Godslayers.

Things had only been exacerbated by Sorimachi's Imouto fetish making him obsess over the way he treated Shizuka… honestly, just because he didn't have an Imouto fetish didn't mean he treated her horribly… if anything it was the other way around!

He never accused her of being a serial womanizer but that was pretty much all that ever left her lips when she talked about him nowadays.

It just wasn't fair.

"Godou," he gulped nervously as he noted that Erica, who had been far quieter than usual after meeting Narukami-san, had just spoken his name, "I have something I need to take care of, please be careful around the other Campione while I am away."

He nearly tripped over his own feet when she said that.

The thought of Erica of all people deciding to leave him alone was just outright strange… sure he knew he should be grateful but all he could bring himself to be was suspicious of her intentions.

"What do you need to take care of?" he was fully aware that she wouldn't tell him what she was going to do but he found himself asking anyway.

"I need to contact Copper Black Cross about the newest Campione," Godou found himself blinking at that excuse, sure he knew it was just that, an excuse, she'd never bothered taking time away from him to contact them but it was certainly a good excuse.

"I see," he knew he didn't sound particularly convinced but then again, he was certain she would be capable of telling he wasn't convinced even if he tried to sound genuine.

The grimace she made upon hearing his lack of belief in her excuse would've been imperceptible if he didn't know her as well as he did and it showed him that she was definitely planning something behind his back. And given the events of the day, he was certain it had something to do with Narukami-san.

"Kusanagi-san," and before anything else could be said, the very person he believed was the cause of this unease called out to him.

"Ah, Narukami-san, how are you doing?" he asked as calmly as he could given the current situation.

"I'm doing fine," the smile on the grey haired teens face was once again contagious and Godou found himself smiling as well, "so are you and your girlfriend ready?"

"I already told you we're not a couple," the dark haired sixteen year old grumbled loud enough for his sempai to hear him.

"And I've already mentioned that Godou is in denial," the seventh Campione found himself nearly crying at Erica's dismissal of his statement, "and I will not be joining Godou on this meeting as I have other matters to attend to."

"I see, then are you ready to go Kusanagi-san?" and with that question from the eighth Campione, the slayer of Verethragna simply let out a nod of acceptance, "I will ask this first, is there anywhere within walking distance of here? I came to school on my scooter so I'll have to take it back home tonight."

"Ah, you have a scooter?" he was definitely surprised to hear that, he didn't expect the older teen to have his own form of transportation.

"Yeah, though I'm considering applying for a standard vehicle licence," he admitted calmly, making the other teen widen his eyes in surprise.

"Really? Do you have a car as well?" the question was a perfectly valid one and the laugh he received in response was rather telling in his eyes.

"No I don't, but I have managed to save up a few hundred thousand Yen over the past year," the older of the two admitted casually, "though I'm going to see about getting the HCC to get me a good one instead of spending my own money on it."

At that statement Godou froze, he also noted that Erica also froze as she started walking away from the two males.

"W-what do you mean you're going to get the HCC to buy it for you?" the younger teen couldn't believe his ears, he had expected Narukami-san to be like him and try and avoid getting too close to any of these mages associations and here he was saying he was going to take advantage of one of them already.

"Well, they're expecting me to do things for them so it's only natural that I expect them to pay me for it," at that Godou realised he wasn't dealing with someone like himself, to think that he would only help them because he wanted whatever they could get him.

His displeasure at that revelation must have been easy to read if the next sentence Narukami-san said was anything to go by.

"Let me guess, you think I'm only going to fight Heretic Gods because I'm getting paid right?" the former Baseball player had to suppress a wince at that statement, "I'll tell you this, I'll fight any Heretic God that causes harm to anyone, regardless of whether I'm getting paid or not, but that doesn't mean I won't take advantage of it to get a bit extra for myself."

That explanation made the dark haired teen stall a bit, he didn't understand what the older teen was implying despite his attempts at figuring it out.

"To put it simply, I see myself like a Doctor, I won't sit by and let someone die just because I wasn't getting paid, but that doesn't mean I won't use those same skills to make a living," and that explanation hit the younger teens mind like a sledgehammer. He had never thought of it like that, he had always assumed that since he had to strength to fight Gods, it was his duty to do so and he therefore shouldn't take anything from that situation.

But it seemed that Narukami-san thought about using that strength for both the right reasons and personal gain at the same time.

There was only one real problem he could think of.

"But what about getting too close to any single organisation?" he was sure there would be some sort of problem in the long run if he got too close to a single group, even if he was close to representatives of both Copper Black Cross and the History Compilation Committee.

"Well, the representative of the History Compilation Committee that I met last night basically said that the Campione are so far beyond everyone else that there is no point in trying to stand up to them, so I doubt they'll cause either of us too much trouble," the shrug the older teen gave at that explanation made Kusanagi Godou feel strange.

It was obvious that Narukami Yū, the one person he felt was normal among the Campione, was taking his role as a king in stride and not letting any of the stress get to him… and yet he was still acting normally outside of everything involving the mages associations.

It was just something he felt seemed almost paradoxical after seeing those that accepted their positions in the food chain.

Was it really possible to retain a normal life while still accepting the political power that came with being a Campione?

He turned his gaze towards Erica, only to blink in surprise as he saw her smiling at him. The smile itself was something that he knew very well, it wasn't the coy one that existed to try and seduce him, it wasn't the mischievous one that threatened his sanity… it was the reassuring one, the one that told him that everything was alright and that what he was thinking wasn't wrong.

She could read him better than anyone and he could also read her better than anyone… and right now, he realised exactly what she meant, 'you should listen to him'.

With a twitch of her lips, she turned and walked away, leaving him alone with the newer Campione.

"So are you finished talking with your girlfriend?" and once again Godou found himself wallowing in a pit of despair.

"She isn't my girlfriend!"

XXX XXX XXX

Erica couldn't stop herself from smiling as she walked back towards her apartment.

It would seem she was wrong about the Eighth Campione.

He wouldn't be a bad influence on Godou, if anything, that previous conversation had demonstrated to her that it was quite the opposite.

He was proof that someone could both accept the role and power of a Campione while living a normal life, something Godou was extremely hesitant to do after his prior meetings with other Campione.

They had always accepted their role and power while discarding any semblance of normality that may have existed before, but Narukami Yū showed that it wasn't impossible to be both a normal teen and a Godslayer.

Right now she wanted nothing more than to intrude on the two kings meeting, to take her place at Godou's side, but she held back, she had already stated that she had other matters to attend to and on top of that, she was hoping that Godou would be more open with the other Campione without anyone else around.

If so then she wondered how her King would develop, would he become a man worthy of the title instead of just the power?

She was certainly looking forward to seeing the results of this meeting.

She could already imagine Godou finally accepting his position in society and ravishing her mercilessly…

Well he probably wouldn't, he was just too shy to do something like that.

But she could wait, even if she really didn't like having to.

Shaking her head she tried to take her mind off that particular train of thought.

It wasn't good to think too hard on things like that after all.

There was one thing that caught her attention now that she wasn't focused on trying to come up with a way to separate the two Campione, something she really should've noticed earlier.

Her bag was heavier than usual.

Turning a suspicious eye towards her bag, she unclasped it and took a peek inside.

_Erica_

_I know you didn't want to accept it but since you have such a large appetite, I decided to put this in here anyway, please don't throw it away, it really is good if Shizuka likes it._

_Godou_

The Blonde, Italian knight found herself blinking in surprise at the noted she read before moving it aside to reveal one of the bento's Narukami-san had prepared the previous night.

With a couple of blinks she recalled how none of the group had any issues after eating it earlier, so it was probably going to be edible and lacking in poison, so she would eat it when she got home, perhaps she might even let Arianna try some as well… it wasn't like anything bad would happen right?

And so with her smile still in place, she continued her journey back home and to her maid.

XXX XXX XXX

Godou really didn't know what to think anymore.

Narukami-san had been perfectly normal while he had been giving him a tour of the local area, honestly the only reason he could tell the other teen was a Campione was because of the prior knowledge of his status… well, that and the comment about getting the History Compilation Committee to buy him a car.

It was just something he never expected to witness, another Campione that wasn't a battle nut.

On top of that, he had managed to get some peace from Erica's constant attention, which in turn gave him time to breath instead of constantly having to fend off her attempts to smother him as much as possible.

"Onii-chan… where have you been?" it was the very first thing he heard as he entered his home, honestly why did Shizuka have to interrogate him every time he did anything now?

"I was with Narukami-sempai," he was for the first time in several months, capable of telling her the full truth about what he was doing, "since he just moved here I decided to show him around… _plus it also got me away from Erica_," he mumbled that last part low enough for his little sister to not catch it.

"I bet you were also with that Erica girl," the young girl stated while looking at him like someone would look at a pile of dog dirt they had just stepped in.

"Actually, Erica had something else to do so it was just me and Narukami-sempai," he was capable of saying that with complete honesty and it was clear to him that it surprised his little sister after so many months of constantly evading her questions.

"Really?" her tone was sceptical and her expression was just as doubtful.

"Yes, really," he noted the way she looked at him for several seconds, her gaze making him feel nervous, before she finally relented.

"Fine, I'll believe you," and with that she turned her back on him before stalling for a couple of second, "n-next time, let me join you."

As she walked away, Godou found himself frozen to the spot.

Oh god… why?

They'd only met for less than an hour so why?

Why did she already have a crush on him?

XXX XXX XXX

Yū returned home at about half past eight at night and he would admit that the time spent with the other Campione had reminded him a little of the time he spent with Yosuke back in Inaba.

Though he would admit that he would much rather actually spend time with the former city-boy, they were simply that much closer than he was to the youngest Campione… plus, they had had a fist fight to mark each other as equals so that also helped things.

Though he was certain Godou wouldn't be the type to do something like that.

Not that he expected to do anything like that with the teen, he wasn't even trying to think of himself as equal to or superior to anyone, that much was clear from their minor interactions that day.

Godou was raised as a pacifist but had the instincts of a Tiger.

That meant that until you pushed him, he would keep trying to avoid conflict but when you finally did back him into a corner… well, then you were in serious trouble.

Still, he had no intention of pushing Godou at all, they weren't enemies after all.

"Welcome home, Yū-kun," he was greeted by a voice he knew but wasn't particularly familiar with, as he opened the door to the apartment.

"Yū," another voice that he rarely heard but knew like the back of his hand.

"Kaa-chan, Tou-san," he responded as he closed the door behind him and removed his shoes while looking at the two people that gave birth to him.

His mother was a beautiful woman of average height. She wore a dark blue business suit with a matching skirt, while her grey hair was cut just below her ears and her grey eyes were clearly tired from overwork.

Next to her was his father, a tall man that he inherited his face and height from. Unlike her he had dull brown eyes and typical black hair, but just like her, his eyes showed that he was overworked.

"You're back rather late," his mother stated with concern in her tone, apparently she still thought of him as a young child but he didn't take it personally, the fact was that both his parents had been too busy working to really raise him properly, it was one of the reasons he was as independent as he was… plus his lack of parental figures resulted in him having to make his own decisions and deal with the consequences, something that had led to him developing the ability to keep his cool in just about any situation.

"I was being shown around the area by an acquaintance," he admitted truthfully, earning a sigh off the woman.

"Yū, just because you're older now doesn't mean it's safe to be walking the streets too late," his father stated, earning a nod off the teen.

"I know, but I also know that I'm more than capable of taking care of myself," the grey haired teen informed them calmly, earning a serious look off his father.

"Look, we know we haven't really been here for you," he started, only to be cut off by the youngest in the room.

"I know, you've been busy with work, but that doesn't change the fact that I don't need you to give me life lessons," the persona user admitted calmly, earning a pair of grimaces off his parents, "I know what I'm doing alright?"

The expressions of displeasure on his parents faces when he said that was enough to almost make him feel guilty but the fact remained, that he didn't need them to teach him anything, not when he already knew most of the life lessons they could try and give him.

Plus, he was a Campione and a persona user.

He wasn't anywhere close to being defenceless.

But he couldn't tell them that, one, they probably wouldn't believe him and two, even if they did, it would only cause them stress to know that their son now killed deities for a living.

"Anyway, I'm going to my room," he called out as he headed towards his bedroom door, "let me know if you need anything."

And with that, he left his parents alone in the lounge.

They never were the closest of families and this wasn't going to change that.

* * *

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.

As I said at the beginning of this chapter, if you want to learn anymore about my works in progress or what I'm currently doing... check out my blog.

Anyway, that's all for now so until next time...

Shadow out.


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